16 December 2014

Between 16-18 January 2015, Munich, Germany will be the backdrop to the 12th Annual EAU Section of Oncological Urology (ESOU). Opinion leaders in the field will spend a weekend discussing the PRIME approach to improve the outcome of cancer treatment in onco-urology. Here is a sneak peek of the programme.

“It is most important to have information useful to urological cancer specialists,” according to Prof. Maurizio Brausi (IT), ESOU Chairman. Therefore, the programme looks at all areas of onco-urology, from diagnosis and diagnostic tools, to treatment options and follow-up best practices.

Lively discussions on active surveillance, biopsy and personalized medicine, among others will help further this purpose on the first day of the meeting. A good example is the contribution of Prof. Mark Emberton (GB) on the use of MRI in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. According to him “Behind the MRI story is a revolution in how we conceptualise prostate cancer.” MRI as a tool in the diagnosis of PCa has and will continue to modify how doctors think about and manage the disease. In his words: “the ability of the MRI to rule out clinically significant disease is quite extraordinary. It is the attribute that we always seek in a biomarker. And it looks like we have it already available in almost every hospital in the EU.”

On Saturday, discussions on prostate, urothelial and testicular cancer will spark discussion among those present. One such topic is Postchemotherapy RPLND. Professor Axel Heidenreich (DE) will argue in favour of the procedure, “a challenging and technically difficult surgery, but still an integral part of the multimodality therapy for advanced testicular cancer. Only its proper application will ensure the long0term survival of patients”. Another point of debate will be the use of robotic-assisted versus open surgery in radical cystectomy and extended pelvic lymphadenectomy. Professor Brausi will highlight the perils of robotic surgery, while Professor Peter Wiklund (SE) will plead for the benefits of this method.

To end on a high note, Sunday morning will be dedicated to complications following radical surgery, as well as award the best publication in onco-urology in 2014. After lunch, metastatic and castration resistant PCa will round off another edition of the ESOU meeting.

Registration for ESOU15 is open until January 13th! Please visit the ESOU15 website for more information on fees and the complete scientific programme.